"…and cruel time and decay conspire to turn the days of your youth into dark nights. In order to love you, I will fight against time, and what it has taken from you, I will rekindle."

"Asu."

The coffin carrier Harvey clasped his hands together and watched quietly as the blazing white flames burned up the floating corpse debris on the sea.

Fili held Ash in her arms and couldn't help but stick her head out to watch.

What she saw was clearly a necromancer performing an evil funeral for a corpse, but this black-skinned, curly-haired man made her feel inexplicably sacred, as if he was both sending off life and welcoming life.

They flew through several battles along the way, and Ash did not take action every time, leaving enough time for Igula, Harvey, and Vichy to get used to each other.

Of course, Igula and Harvey know each other well and don't need any adjustment. After all, they are partners who have taken a bath together. Ash mainly hopes that the demon maid can also participate in the battle sequence.

To be honest, this is actually quite troublesome. After all, no matter how well-behaved and obedient Vichy is, and no matter how she pesters Ash to punish her every day, who would forget her other identity - killing is as natural as breathing, and she has peeled more human skins than the clothes you have worn. Her only bottom line is that she has no principles, and her only principle is that she has no bottom line. It is as if her entire person is a moving disaster made up of malice, the Ghost Prophet!

The more well-behaved she was, the more afraid everyone was of her; her breathing alone was enough to make Ash and the others wary.

Occasionally, when Vichy touched his hair, Ash's whole body stiffened, and he felt as if he was being licked by the monster's barbed tongue.

If Vichy is allowed to participate in the battle, who would not focus 70% of his attention on this pink-haired maid?

However, the situation was beyond everyone's expectations - whether it was intentional or inevitable, the demon maid actually took the initiative to serve as a vanguard tactical position, charging into battle every time, wielding a flaming halberd to fight against the creatures in the virtual world.

Of course, since Weixi had no other magic spirits, she could only rely on the power of Zhishouhuo. But if it was said that she couldn't study long-range attack methods, it would be too much of an underestimation of her legendary fire magic realm.

The Ghost Prophet took the initiative to charge forward and exposed his back, so no matter how vigilant the Trickster and the Necromancer were, they would gradually relax. Not only that, Vichy seemed to be very familiar with the miracles of Igula and Harvey, and would often push the virtual creatures to their best casting distance. The battle experience of the two was as comfortable as having food delivered to their mouths.

Ash originally hoped that Vichy could cooperate with Igola and Xavi, but after a few rounds, it almost became Igola and Xavi cooperating with Vichy.

The cult leader felt that this trend was dangerous, so he asked Fili to practice floating in the sea and pulled the fraudster aside to have a private chat: "You are almost being led away by Vichy!"

"There's nothing we can do. Her tactical level is indeed higher than ours." Igula spread his hands: "It's good for us to cooperate with her. If we don't cooperate, we will make mistakes. What can I do?"

Ash was a little anxious: "I'm worried that you will be seduced by her!"

"I promise everything will be fine. We just have to work together now. Don't worry about it."

"Why don't you break up? I'm worried when I see her with you guys."

"You're being unreasonable. It's obvious that fighting together is the most cost-effective option. Work is work, and feelings are feelings. We can tell the difference."

"Why am I unreasonable?"

"Because you don't believe me! Nothing happened, but you are using your imagination to suspect me!"

“I’m just worried!”

"We've been together for so long, why are you worried that I'll betray you because of a woman who suddenly appears? You just don't trust me!"

"Hey, what's the quarrel?" Wei Xi came closer and said in a teasing tone, "Weren't things fine just now?"

Ash glared at her: "It's all because of you!"

"I understand. Master, you don't trust me, so you're worried that I might turn your companions against you." The maid sighed, "I know that no matter what I do, I can't change your mind, but I don't want you to quarrel because of me. How about listening to my advice?"

"you say."

Vichy: "Mr. Igula, since the master is worried about us, I will not make eye contact or verbal communication with you even in battle. This will certainly reduce our cooperation efficiency, but fighting is only a trivial part of our lives. There is no need to create a gap with friends because of fighting."

Ash nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "That's right, we don't have to fight all the time, in fact, you don't need to have tacit cooperation at all!"

Vichy: "I will wear more covering clothes like cloaks when I return so that you can't form a familiar impression of me. We will remain strangers."

Ash nodded heavily: "Yes, yes, we must remain strangers!"

Vichy: "But this is only a temporary solution. In order to eliminate the master's doubts, I should form a negative distance intimacy with the master, so that the master can believe that my body and mind have been conquered by him."

Ash waved his hand, "As long as your relationship gets better, I trust you and Harvey completely, Igula."

After saying that, Ash stuck out his tongue at the demon maid, and went over to pick up Fili who was swimming in the sea with her wings.

Vichy and Igula looked at each other, and the maid said depressedly: "I was too impatient this time. I almost succeeded."

"come on."

"Aren't you afraid that Ash will be charmed by me?"

"First, your chain is in Ash's hand," the Trickster said, sharpening his nails, "Second, it's not certain who will charm whom."

Wei Xi smiled and said, "Are you so confident? But if I may be frank, there is nothing likable about the master, right?"

"What a coincidence." Igulla shrugged, "Xavi and I used to think the same thing."

…

In short, after several battles, one of Harvey's bodies was accidentally eaten by the Ichthyosaur.

Although the price paid for beheading the fish dragon was so high that even Lala Fei cried, the corpse was indeed chewed into pieces beyond restoration.

This was just a normal consumption of props. Even the corpse was not a living person, but just a projection like Fili. However, Harvey had to stop and hold a funeral for him.

"This is the first time I've seen you hold a funeral for a corpse." Ash said, "Even though we saw a lot of corpses along the way on the road we created ourselves."

"Because he is my family." Harvey said calmly: "I can ignore strangers, but I have to give due respect to my family - in fact, if we were not running around all the time, I would be happy to deal with those unattended bodies."

"The heir of the Haagen-Dazs school?" The maid's tone was a little subtle: "I thought that after thousands of years, there would be no heirs to this school."

Ash was a little puzzled: "Why? Isn't Haagen-Dazs a cultural symbol of the Undead faction? It's like a great existence like an ancestor..."

"But it can't keep up with the times," said Vichy. "The core essence of the Haagen-Dazs school is twofold: 'the dead should serve the living' and 'respect the dead as much as the living'. The former is fine, but the latter... huh, we don't even respect the living, so how can we respect the dead?"

"In my time, few necromancers still worship Hagduds, except for..." Vichy paused and suddenly asked, "Do you still maintain the "Brazier Ceremony"? "

"It's the 'initiation ceremony,'" Harvey replied.

Others didn't understand what they were talking about, so Harvey explained, "After completing the necromancy of the body, I will bathe the body with my own hands, then carry the body naked across the brazier, put the body in the coffin, and chant "Aha", which means that the other party officially becomes my family."

Fili asked curiously, "What is the meaning of this ceremony?"

"As for the actual effect, maybe not." The necromancer said, "But for me, this ritual means that the other party and I are a family that can cross the sea of ​​fire together. I will respect each other equally at ordinary times, and I can use each other without hesitation when needed, because we are a family that supports each other."

"There's a reason why you were selected for the Weaving Festival's Family Ranking." Ash said faintly, "I'd like to call you the person with the strongest sense of family."

Igula commented: "Although I really want to say that your action is very heartwarming, it is really too bizarre."

Vichy said: "But in my time, Haagen-Dazs magicians didn't have the custom of holding funerals for their 'family'."

"Because this is indeed a new tradition that has emerged in the new era." Harvey said: "A thousand years ago, a great necromancer who inherited the path of Hagdas appeared. The "home-settling ceremony" she proposed has become a ritual that necromancers must learn. However, the home-settling ceremony only needs the last sentence "Asu". The previous paragraph is the elegy that Chikara taught me."

Vichy applauded: "That means the Undead faction has not only not developed in the past few thousand years, but has regressed and become retro. That's great."

Harvey glanced at the maid and said nothing.

"It's good to see that you guys are on bad terms. Keep moving forward," Ash said, "The fog ahead is getting thicker."

The deeper they went, the more frequent the appearance of the virtual creatures became, and their combat power became stronger and stronger. It was too stupid to waste their magic power on fighting the Slashing Fish Dragon and the Mud Fish Dragon. Unless they really couldn't avoid it, they would take a detour and skip the battle directly.

"Is it my illusion?" Igula suddenly said, "The creatures in the virtual world seem to be getting stronger and stronger."

"Obviously, the further inward you go, the more people the Void Realm creatures should eat, and the weaker they should be. But the magic resistance of the fish-slaying dragon just now is stronger than the one at the outermost edge."

Vichy said calmly: "This shows that there are still mechanisms in the fog that we don't understand, as well as unpredictable dangers."

"Hey, it would be great if we could drive these virtual creatures out, so we don't have to worry about it."

Fili was stunned. "But, but people in other cities will also suffer."

"The trouble is mine, and their lives are theirs. Even if they die millions of people, it's not worth the trouble I'm in." The maid cast a coquettish glance at Ash: "Right, Master?"

Ash looked at the others and quietly moved away from the Ghost Prophet.

Weixi blinked and spread his hands: "Well, the moral bottom line of magicians in your era is a little higher than I expected..."

"Speaking of which," she turned to look at Ash, "Master, it's time to make our bottom line clear."

"Bottom line?"

"Should we try our best to snatch the angel's remains regardless of the danger, or should we retreat in time to protect ourselves?" Weishi said seriously, "If it's the latter, we can prepare to leave now, because the strength of the virtual creatures is almost approaching the limit of the three of us."

"If a more powerful virtual creature appears, only you and Miss Fili can deal with it."

Ash was silent for a moment.

To be honest, there was no reason for them to take the risk.

They can even stay at home and wait for the Source Angel to completely fall, and Ruby Mountain will naturally lift the blockade.

The reason why they participated in the angel hunting was, on the one hand, their greed for the source angels, and on the other hand, their resentment at being cheated by the Star Lord.

But the most important thing is that Ash wants to solve this matter himself.

Even though he didn't know what was going on with Fanxing, Ash knew that Sword Lady and Witch were anxious. He hoped they wouldn't be anxious, but he couldn't even get the message across. He was really afraid that Sword Lady and Witch would do something earth-shattering for him during his absence.

Even if he could return to reality just one day earlier, Ash would be able to feel at peace one day earlier.

And, Nia...

"If you are in danger, you can leave first. You don't need to worry about me." Ash said, "I can only ensure the safety of myself and Fili."

"I see," Igula said, "I didn't expect you wanted to see Sword Princess so much."

"What do you know? Maybe I just want to snatch food from the Starry Master..."

"Ash, even though we are friends," the Trickster sighed, "but the sour smell you emit when you miss your lover is really obvious and makes people uncomfortable."

Ash's expression was about to get worse. He looked at Harvey and said, "Is it that obvious?"

The necromancer blinked, "Ash, we are friends."

"I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time... Bullshit!" Ash bared his teeth, "You guys are still in love even if you don't agree!"

Harvey groaned and said, "It's not impossible..."

Ash immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, I was really wrong, Harvey, please don't fall in love with a corpse, we can't stand it."

"Master," Wei Xi said faintly, "Should you be more careful with your words and actions? After all, you are carrying a young girl on your back, and your boastful words may make her feel uncomfortable..."

"Oh, Fili, I'm sorry." Ash said, "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay," Fili sniffed and whispered, "I actually quite like your and Sword Princess' story."

"Really? Oh, yes, when we were in the Sea of ​​Knowledge, Sword Princess and I—"

boom!

In a flash, nine huge dark shadows jumped out from the deep sea and slashed at everyone like blades!